Ole Miss-Texas and Houston-Utah are the headliners but intrigue lurks in Week 8

College football fans may get a chance to catch their breath Saturday.

There were six Top 25 matchups lastweek, and five of the top seven teams lost on the same day in a regular season for the first time in the 90 years of The Associated Press poll.

This week there are just two: No. 7 Mississippi at No. 19 Texas and No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah.

Still, there is potential intrigue to watch:

The early slate

No. 18 LSU (5-2, 2-2 SEC) plays at Auburn (4-2, 2-2), whose fans are hoping the hometown Tigers keep the momentum going after arguably the program’s biggest win since the 2013 Iron Bowl kick 6. Beating No. 1 Georgia in a massive road upset is a tough act to follow. A loss would deal a potentially fatal blow to either team’s College Football Playoff hopes.

Pittsburgh (5-2, 2-2 ACC) visits the newly minted No. 1 Miami Hurricanes (6-0, 4-0), who climbed to the top of the AP Top 25 after pushing past rival Florida State in double overtime. Now they’re hosting the Panthers, who have lost their last two games since losing starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to a season-ending knee injury.

No. 6 Indiana (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) travels to Michigan (4-2, 1-2) after having its 22-game win streak snapped at home by No. 3 Ohio State. Michigan rallied to beat Penn State 21-18 last week after Tommy Carr took over for Bryce Underwood at quarterback in the second half.

Afternoons are for trap games

— No. 2 BYU, which has its highest ranking since its 1984 championship season, is favored by just 6.5 points at UCF.

— No. 11 Tennessee, whose only blemish is a 3-point loss at Texas, is a 2.5-point underdog at South Carolina, which improved to 3-3 after that big win at Florida.

— No. 13 Alabama (5-2) hosts Texas A&M (4-3) without much margin for error as Kalen DeBoer’s crew tries to end a two-game skid against a puzzling but talented Aggies team.

— No. 15 Iowa (5-1) climbed steadling from its preseason No. 22 ranking to No. 14 before it got handled by Ohio State. After an easy win at Washington and a bye week, the Hawkeyes are back in the middle of the pack just in time for a trip to Minnesota (4-2) for the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry game. The Gophers would love to win the pig trophy for just the third time since 2014 and deal a blow to the Big Ten and CFP hopes of Iowa.

The nightcaps

No. 7 Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1 SEC), led by star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, is a 3.5-point underdog for its primetime visit to No. 19 Texas (4-2, 1-2), losers of two straight.

That probably has something to do with the fact that Texas has the nation’s 11th-ranked defense but it will be put to the test by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, running back Kewan Lacy and receiver Deuce Alexander, who have accounted for a combined 2,725 yards this season. The Ole Miss defense also just held the conference’s leading rusher, Missouri’s Jamal Roberts, to just 39 yards last week.

That’s not great news for a Texas offense with a scuffling ground game and questions about whether Arch Manning would even start against Grandpa Archie and Uncle Eli’s alma mater.

The late show is Houston (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) at No. 10 Utah (6-0, 3-0), with the Utes a 6.5-point favorite in the Big 12’s showcase game this week.

Houston needs a win to keep pace with No. 2 BYU and No. 8 Texas Tech in the Big 12. The Cougars would move into third place and own the tiebreaker over the Utes if they can ruin the celebration of the 100th consecutive sellout at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Utah is coming off a 3-point win at Colorado and none of its opponents so far this season is better than .500.

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